Weekend Wrap Up

Well, the three-day weekend "all by myself" is over and although not every minute of it was spent by myself, a lot was accomplished and some stuff turned out fun and unexpected. Here's how it turned out:

What I did NOT do:

- clean the microwave or fridge (but I really need to!)

 - wash the dogs (but I knew I wouldn't do that!)

 - finish the books I'd already started (I decided to "abandon" them, that's teacher speak for stop reading them because they were just way too boring)

 - design my website (but that was overly ambitious anyway)

 - take fall photos (but only because the leaves have not turned enough yet to make pretty pictures)

 - exercise (but I worked my ass off so maybe that counts a little?)

 - pick up the house (well, I DID, but not until today so I couldn't enjoy it ALL weekend)

 - read the Sunday paper (but it's only 9 p.m. so I might still have time.........)

But here's what I DID do:

 - a bunch of laundry

 - went through my keepsake bin and actually tossed some stuff

 - organized and purged some craft stuff (but not all of it, so it's a work in progress)

 - watched two movies (but I had a stack of twelve - haha!)

 - started a new book

 - wrote....well, blogged....

 - took pictures of the kitten (but she moves around a lot so I only got a couple of good ones!)

 - finished decorating for Halloween (and had all the candles burning when Jeff and Arlie got home!)

 - baked (once)

 - remembered to feed the animals - every day! (p.s. there's no frog)

And here's all the bonus stuff I did:

 - had lunch with a friend on Friday (and Hannah came too)

 - went to Fred Meyer with Hannah and ended up getting way more stuff than I planned

 - went to dinner at Olive Garden with another friend (and enjoyed a spectacular sunset on the way there)

 - stayed in bed until 11:30 on Saturday morning 

 - made my own "coffee shop" breakfast

 - went through Harrison's clothes and filled a bag with giveaways

 - picked up Harrison, got lunch at McDonald's (frappes included!) and went to Bothell Landing to feed the ducks and do an impromptu photo shoot

 - watched movies while I went through craft stuff and keepsake stuff

 - woke up to the kitten scratching my back (ouch)

 - went through Jeff's clothes and filled a bag with giveaways

 - went through the laundry room and got rid of a bunch of stuff

 - had a heart attack when Hannah showed up unexpectedly from her choir retreat while I was talking to myself in the laundry room (hahaha!)

 - had lunch with a friend

 - spent the afternoon cleaning, organizing and basically getting a lot of things under control that have been making me crazy for a long time

 - made lunches for tomorrow

 - lit candles and made everything all warm and homey (yay!)

And it was a very, very good weekend. 

Ambition and a three-day weekend.......

Finally! My long-awaited three-day weekend has arrived. I knew it was coming. The school calendar let me know back in August. But what I didn't know was that it would unfold in such a way that I would get three glorious days all to myself! A vacation of sorts, in my own home. What a concept! Jeff is off deer-hunting (ick, more on that later!), Arlie is visiting her mom in Spokane, Hannah is off on a choir retreat, Harrison is with his dad, and Hayley, well she's been off to college for a solid month now. And so I find myself alone, save for three dogs and a kitten, and I'm so excited to have all of this uninterrupted time that I've made a list of things I would like to accomplish in these three days (disclaimer - my kids HATE my lists but I love them like I love swiss cake rolls and would never, ever give them up. Like swiss cake rolls. Never.). Here is my list:
 - Clean fridge and microwave. How pathetic is that? Housecleaning first on the list? Bah. I might not do it. But I probably will because there's something icky spilled in the fridge and it's bugging me. And someone actually wiped out the microwave recently, which had grown a layer of food splatters, but I'm guessing no REAL cleaning ensued, so I'll just tie up that loose end as well.
 - Laundry. OMG. What is wrong with me? WHY do I have another chore on the top of my list? Actually I kind of like laundry. It's so neat and tidy - wash, dry, fold, hang, put away. It's one of the few things I actually follow through on. I like how it comes full circle. I know, I'm weird.
 - Go through keepsake bin. This one might take me a while. I have to read and look at everything. And I'll throw some stuff away. Maybe.
 - Organize/purge craft and scrapbook stuff. I do have a lot of crap. And no time to do anything with it. Might as well get rid of some of it. I've put myself on a strict no craft/scrapbook supply diet until I actually use what I already own. Except stickers, which I cannot seem to stop buying.
 - Watch pile of movies. I am SO excited about this one! I have a stack of movies I've been wanting to watch and never have time. Now, I can just watch and watch and who cares how much time passes?
 - Wash dogs? This has a question mark on it because it means I won't do it. HAHAHA!
 - Finish books already started. Yes, I really need to do this. Because I've had two books partially read since the summer and I am woefully out of practice on reading for pleasure. I must finish what I started and then dig into the pile of books I've been meaning to read for years. Another diet - no more books until I finish the ones I already have. I'm a book junkie. There, I said it.
 - Start new book. See above.
 - Write/research. Write a novel? Compile notes for a novel? Research writing jobs? Research a few good recipes? Research why I always research? I don't know. But I must write. It feeds my soul.
 - Design website. Ambitious!! And I'm not telling what it's for. You'll just have to wait and see!
 - Kitten pictures. Yes! I must photograph my beautiful Matilda and possibly catch some of her funny antics.

In addition, I thought of a few more things I'd love to do. Like take fall photos. And finish decorating for Halloween. And bake. And take a nice, hot bath. And remember to feed the three dogs, one kitten and fish. There might still be a frog, too. I can't remember. I'll have to check. I'd also love to exercise at least thirty minutes each day. And read the Sunday paper ON Sunday. And pick up the whole house so it looks nice for three days.

At any rate, it's a lot of ambition wrapped up in three days' time. I better get started!!! What's on YOUR list?